Chapter 17 A New Boat Soon enough, the black clouds of winter were ready once again to roll in.
It was time for us to give up our adventures.
That winter, however, even with all of our hobbies, we felt trapped by our cave house.
Why don't we make a light kayak for the spring? suggested Fritz.
It seemed like a good idea to keep us all busy, and we worked hard on building the boat during the long winter.
Finishing our work on the kayak.
After many weeks, we noticed the weather changing, the world blooming and the birds singing again.
As the rains cleared, we dragged our beauty into the open air.
It was lovely just to be outside.
We left the kayak and sailed out all together in our old boat to check the health of our animals.
We found our antelopes well.
As we were leaving Shark Island, my wife began gathering seaweed to bring back in her bag.
What is it for?
I asked her.
It's a surprise, she answered with a twinkle in her eye, and I was left to wonder.
One afternoon some weeks later, after the incident had passed my mind, she came out from Rockburg with a jar of clear jelly.
We all gathered around and tasted it.
It was sweet and delicious.
What is it?
I asked.
Do you remember that seaweed I found a while ago?
She answered.
Yes, of course, I said.
This is what it makes.
I learned it once from a friend.
We all told her she was a genius, and the boys were thrilled with the treat.
My wife was pleased with our happiness, and we all promised to collect more seaweed.
Knowing our antelopes were well, we next checked on our rabbits.
We found the grass and the weeds there chewed by many little teeth.
We could not see them, but we knew they had made a family.
The next day, the boys all went out on a grand hunt.
They returned that night galloping and excited, having caught all kinds of wild game and fowl.
They were proud, and I could see that they had become true hunters.
They had also brought back cuttings from cinnamon and sweet apple trees.
Fritz was most proud of a bag of thistles he had collected.
These are for making wool, he told me, and he was right.
The weeds would be very useful.
At the same time, we gathered our corn and spent a lot of time fishing.
We salted and pickled all that we had.
With two barrels of salted herring saved from last year, we had everything we needed for winter.
Fritz wanted to try out the kayak now that all the food had been gathered.
We launched him into the water, and away he paddled.
As his mother watched, worried to death, he showed that he could handle the boat.
He headed out of safety bay and into the sea.
The other boys and I chased behind in our sailboat, but could not keep up.
He was soon gone from sight, which made us worry.
Suddenly we heard a shot ring out and saw a puff of smoke.
We sailed as fast as we could to find out if Fritz was safe.
He was, and he had harpooned himself a walrus.
Fritz, I yelled, congratulations on your hunt, but you took us all by surprise by going so far out.
I didn't mean to, father, he answered, but once I got in the current, I couldn't stop.
And then I saw the walruses and got excited.
Well, I told him, you're lucky to have gotten away without being hurt.
Walruses can be very dangerous.
Now, what are we going to do with it?
He must be fourteen feet long.
I'm glad you followed me, father, he said.
At least with all of us, we should be able to get him into the sailboat.
While we talked, Fritz decided that the head of the walrus would look perfect on his kayak.
I offered to tow his kayak along behind us, but Fritz wanted to head home the same way he had come.
He wanted to show his mother that he was perfectly safe.
No sooner had we let him go than black clouds rolled in, bringing a giant storm.
Fritz was out of our sight, and we could not help him.
The waves were so strong that we had to tie ourselves to the boat so that we would not be washed overboard.
I was filled with worry for him and for ourselves.
My boys were brave and our boat held up, but I prayed that Fritz would somehow survive the wind and rain.
Finally, as the weather began to clear, we made our way back to Discovery Bay.
As we got close enough to see the beach, we all laughed to see Fritz standing on shore.
My wife was there too, on her knees, praying for us to return safely.
The whole family was together again, home safely.
